A "Dear John letter" is a letter written, originally to a soldier overseas, by his wife, girlfriend, husband or boyfriend to inform them their relationship is over, usually because she or he has found another lover.

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While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than to wait for the original one to return.

As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language (such as "Dear Johnny", "My dearest John", or simply "Darling"), a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose.

"Dear John," the letter began. "I have found someone else whom I think the world of. I think the only way out is for us to get a divorce," it said. They usually began like that, those letters that told of infidelity on the part of the wives of servicemen... The men called them "Dear Johns".[1]

An early reference to Dear John letters was made in a United Press article of March 21, 1944.[2]

It has been claimed that the Vietnam War inspired more Dear John letters than any other US conflict.[3]

This term is also used to describe letters written in the context of employment, either to inform an applicant that they had not been selected for a job,[4][5][6] why employees had been separated from work,[7] or from an employee to their employer upon the employee quitting.[8]

In country music, the concept of the "Dear John" letter was the subject of at least three recordings. Hank Williams recorded "Dear John", which was released as the B-side of "Cold, Cold Heart" in 1951. The second came in 1953, when then-unknown singers Jean Shepard and Ferlin Husky recorded a composition called "A Dear John Letter". Shepard sang the refrain while Husky recited his part -- playing the part of John, a soldier stationed overseas during a conflict, possibly the then-ongoing Korean War. The young soldier excitedly receives and opens a letter from his girlfriend, but then finds heartbreak: She is breaking off the relationship and is marrying John's brother, Don. The song was a No. 1 country and No. 4 pop hit in the late summer of 1953. Several other artists and duet pairings recorded the song in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the Vietnam War ongoing; meanwhile, Shepard and Husky recorded a follow-up later in 1953 called "Forgive Me, John," which also became a best-selling country hit.

An old joke goes that an Army private tells his bunkmate that his girl just wrote him a Dear John letter. The bunkmate asks him, "Well, what did she say?" The private replies, "That's all she wrote," which has become a cultural joke in itself.

The Jim Croce song "Operator" was inspired during Croce's military service, where he saw lines of soldiers waiting to use the outdoor phone on base, many of them calling their wife or girlfriend to see if their Dear John letter was true. [9]

In the hip-hop/R&B song "Always on Time" by Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, Ja Rule mentions a "Dear Ja" letter, implying the same type of relationship situation.

In the R&B song "grapvyne" by Brownstone they say "Now here's a Dear John letter that I've written just for you" Implying that she is leaving her lover.

In the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber Harry explains to Lloyd how a former girlfriend had sent him a "John Deere" letter, confusing the phrase with equipment manufacturer John Deere.

The song '1-Luv' on 1995 album 'In a Major Way' by Vallejo rapper E-40 includes a reference to receipt of a 'Dear John letter' while incarcerated.